Examining Thatcher’s legacy with art

Artist Brian Lewis set up a pop-up exhibition in Pontefract last week in response to the death of former prime minister Margaret Thatcher.

Called the Thatcher Years, it was part of a project Brian has launched to examine the story of her time in power and its legacy, and featured work Brian created during the miners’ strike and in response to the nuclear threat of the early 1980s.

He said: “My granddaughter asked if it was an exhibition celebrating her death, because she thought that would be wrong, and we should separate the person from the public figure, and she’s right.

“I think this could be the first exhibition mounted following her death. I’m hoping it will lead to pictures dealing with her legacy, such as the removal of disability benefit and bedroom tax.”

Brian is also working on a collaborative poetry project on the same theme. P407a315